


Team Kitguli

by AppleFlavoredKitktats



Category: The Book of Mormon - Parker/Stone/Lopez
Genre: Elders, F/F, F/M, M/M, Ugandans, lmao its just a collection of villager ficlets, villagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-11 02:31:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11704971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AppleFlavoredKitktats/pseuds/AppleFlavoredKitktats
Summary: A small collection about different stories about the villagers of Kitguli.-: -Headcanons open in the comments, I update when I feel like it.





	1. Chapter 1

Hello! This is a fanfiction dedicated to the underrated villagers of Uganda. I have made some headcanons for them, and I wanted to write small ficlets dedicated to them. Please understand some of these are just headcanons, not actual fact. 

I will accept requests/headcanons about the villagers in the comments. Please please please make sure these are VILLAGERS/UGANDANS headcanons. This is not McPriceley-based or ChurchTarts-based or focused on the elders 100% of the time.

You can also ask/message/find me on Tumblr. I'm @appleflavoredkitkats on Tumblr, and you can give me suggestions there. Thank ya and enjoy!


	2. Simba and Nala

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Headcanon #1: Elder Davis and Sadaka are really close because of their love for animals. They're the second villager-elder couple after Nabulungi and Arnold. They spend most of their time with the lions or just plain hanging out. They're just... very cute.

The scorching sun flares, the villagers of Kitguli suffering under its beams. At this time of year, heavy droughts might spread throughout Northern Uganda, affecting its citizens as well. At the moment, everyone in Kitguli was busy, despite the heat waves they experience. Some villagers were used to it, especially the old men and women who has experienced heat like this for fifty years. For the younger ones though, they aren't so quite used to it, so some had stayed under the shade for some time.

Sadaka, along with her friend Nablungi, had stayed under the roof of Nabulungi's porch for some hours. Both of them had been chit-chatting non-stop, commenting on anything they see or think about. The two had gotten really close for the past few years, probably because of how close their fathers, Gotswana and Mafala, had gotten. You can't exactly say they're a couple, but they're really close friends, like brothers, even. Sadaka did have different friends here and there, but it's unfortunate that some of those people have vanished. Of course, in a war-torn area like theirs, you cannot simply get great luck surviving. It was disappointing, but Sadaka had learned how to accept all these disappearances.

Sadaka is truly grateful that she still had Nabulungi, after all these bad years. It was a blessing to her, having a friend who always was there for her. They were like sisters, or maybe they had their shoulders glued, only when their Prophet, Elder Cunningham doesn't visit. Sadaka won't say she is envious, but she is really happy for Nabulungi, finally finding someone that brought intense joy for her. Sadaka, on the other hand, was a bit lonely, but with the pack of lions nearby as her friends and Gotswana, she can at least spend the day happily with things she cared about.

At the moment, the elders had started pouring out of their small mission hut, looking as messy as ever. Ever since the incident with the excommunication, they have broken majority of the rules and gained tons of freedom. Though, this made them a bit more reckless; they'd sleep whenever and do whatever, making them really groggy and tired in the mornings.

"Good morning boys," Nabulungi called out, waving her hands at the attractive elders, smiling brightly at the boys. Some elders have waved back and grinned as well, but right after have pouted realizing the work they have to fulfill.

"They're such cute boys," Sadaka stated, hugging her knees as she watches the boys spread out through the village to start working on different projects. And here goes Sadaka and Nabulungi rambling about the elders again, probably a daily activity. 

These elders to the two are really dreamy, like those handsome people on ads they see. It just makes Nabulungi and Sadaka feel fortunate and lucky to have them live here for two years. They watch them dreamily as they just work. They were both immediately infatuated. "Agreed." Nabulungi replies, clasping her hands together as she looks at Elder Cunningham baptize some more villagers.

To Sadaka, Elder Cunningham and Nabulungi are so perfect and pure, unlike some other couples she had seen in the village. It's just not normal for her to see such beauty on front of her. Majority of the married men or women here at least has a dead spouse or they argue everyday, which saddens Sadaka very much. It's glad to see genuine joyfulness from the two, brings back the optimism in Sadaka. 

"You two are cute." Says Sadaka, looking at Nabulungi with a small but pure smile, "it makes me wonder a lot. Like, when am I getting a man like that?" Sadaka states, making Nabulungi laugh a little. "I'm hopeless." Sadaka lies on her back, spreading her arms on the wooden porch. She drags Nabulungi down as well, Nabulungi yelping a bit as her back reaches the porch.

"You don't have to do that, you know, I'm a smart lady." Nabulungi pouts, looking at Sadaka.

"Says the person who thought Sal Tlay Ka Siti is a real place." Replies Sadaka, smirking proudly.

It was silent for a moment until Nabulungi sighs. "Fair point."

And honestly? The Mormon watching stopped from there. The two had just laid on their backs on the hot porch waiting for the day to pass. It was just too heated to be going out somewhere to work or do something. The elders have scattered already too, so there was no point Mormon watching. Maybe a small chat about them won't be bad.

"Hey Nabulungi," Sadaka turned to Nabulungi, calling her attention, "What are the other elders like?" Sadaka wondered, laying on her side. "I haven't talked to much, Elder Cunningham is busy most of the time, and Elder Price is a... a douche." She chuckled, making Nabulungi grin for a moment.

Nabulungi looks up, pondering for a moment. She smiles sweetly, "Well, they're such sweethearts." She starts, clasping their hands together, "I haven't met all of them, but I do know how they act and such. They're very... random, different. Such white boys." Nabulungi sits up, pulling Sadaka along. 

With the elders scattered, Nabulungi just pointed at one elder and explained who they were. It started with Elder Church and Elder Thomas, who Nabulungi explained as a calm, quiet, and pure duo. According to her, the two had rough pasts and with that they've gotten close. There was also Elder Neeley, who Nabulugi thinks was confusing, always exploring, and seems like they have never seen the world at all.

It continued on and on, Nabulungi eventually rambling of how amazing each of them are, boring Sadaka a little. Sadaka looked away for a moment, looking at a certain elder Nabulugi has talked about: Elder Davis. The elder with light brown hair has been sitting next to some tree, an almost dead one, playing with some rabbits from the wild. It intrigued her; weren't the rabbits scared of him? The animals here in Uganda were terrified of humans—of course, in such war-torn places, survival is a must. That would mean killing such creatures for food.

To Sadaka, it's such cruelty. Such creatures do not deserve to die in such ways. Though, when she was young, Gotswana, her father, explained to her: "Here in Kitguli, it's either you choose to live or choose to die.". Life was special here in this place for the villagers, and they are desperate for survival.

Speaking of animals, Sadaka suddenly remembers the pack of lions she took care of since she was 10 years old. When she was 10, she had met a pack of lions who she just continued loving until today. She visits them at least three to four times a week, just there to calm their nerves and cuddle with them. They're really good companions. And now, she probably has to go look for them.

"Nabulungi, sorry to cut you short, gotta get to my pals." Sadaka excuses herself, standing up after what seems like hours. Nabulungi gets silent for a moment before nodding and smiling.

"Ah, sure! I do have to help Arnold with some things. See you later, sister." Nabulungi stands up as well, and the two hug before parting ways.

-; -

Sadaka had gotten to the wild really quickly, being a bit aware of the creatures around her. But she was used to the wilderness, visiting the wild a lot in her life. She eventually also learned how to avoid the violent creatures like snakes and scorpions, so Sadaka was all set. The lions she liked to take care off are usually next to one of the biggest trees Sadaka has seen. So of course, Sadaka approaches said place.

"Hello? Banou, Jabali?" She calls out the main lions' names. Banou is the queen of the pack, and Jabali is the main king. The lions had appeared, all surrounding Sadaka slowly, but surely, they have approached her affectionately, practically asking the woman to pet their fur. Sadaka sits next to tree as the lions follow her lead, some cubs sitting on her lap.

"Lala kitoto lala," Sadaka starts singing a popular lullaby Gotswana used to sing to her when she was young. It was a small and sweet lullaby. Gotswana started singing it when her mother had died from AIDs, and it really soothed her very much. It also soothed the lions, calming them down in an instance. She pets some lions' manes, especially Jabali's, the lion appreciating the touch.

"Lala mpendwa jua limeshazama," she continues singing, hopefully making the lions a bit more calm. Some have laid down already, purring at Sadaka's singing.

This was probably the beauty of nature—unlike humans, these animals (well, one species) would get along so well. The villagers of Kitguli are slowly getting along, but still, chaos remains. Sadaka preferred staying out in the wild and observe how different animals and their tactics on how to get along. It's nice to see something different.

Besides Gotswana and the Hatimbi family, the lion pack was her source of comfort. Kitguli is a chaotic and dangerous place. It was risky to go from one place to another. Before Arnoldism came, generals came back and forth, some police didn't care or discriminated them. It was harsh. The lions calmed her, having animal friends was such a blessing to her.

She finished the small lullaby, some lions have fallen asleep and some just laid down calmly. She stands up, petting some lions before she goes and leaves for dinner. 

-; - 

Another day, another time to share under the ever so hot sun. Sadaka groans as she hugs her knees, sweating all over. Nabulungi was suffering the same problem while downing on a pitcher of water she got from Mafala. "It never rains here." Sadaka complains, jealous of the pitcher of water Nabulungi possessed. 

"Well, at least we get to see some hot Mormons," Nabulungi grins, making Sadaka chuckle. And again, each elder did what they were told, work, possibly? Maybe some proselytizing and preaching here and there. Though, with them doing the same thing each day, it gets boring.

And then she looked at Elder Davis again. He was with the rabbits.. again. Such a weird white man. Then, he leaves the rabbits and goes to his right... that's the way to the wilderness. Sadaka raised one of her eyebrows, suspicious of the acts of Elder Davis. It was only her allowed that way, never anyone else. She never had seen anyone else besides herself get to the wild.

With a blink, Elder Davis disappears, definitely in the wild somewhere. This concerns Sadaka because she really doesn't trust anyone else but herself to go to the wild and stay with wild animals. She shushes Nabulungi's monologue about their prophet, abruptly ending the conversation. "Sorry to end this so quickly, be right back." She stands up, not even explaining to Nabulungi about the suddent problem that just occurred. 

Sadaka ran as fast as she possibly could to the wilderness, not trusting Elder Davis one bit. Maybe he was with the lions? Or the wild snakes and buffalos, or maybe even just simple bugs? She looks at the big tree where the lions are located and—

There he was, the elder with light brown hair sitting against the tree with the lions.

But is he... petting them?

"Elder Davis!" Sadaka calls out, calling the man's attention. She runs their way, trying to catch her breath afterwards, "Elder Davis, what are you doing to my children?" Sadaka knew she was using poor words to describe the lion, but really, the lions felt like family to her. Some lions purr as Sadaka comes closer, and Sadaka pets some lions' fur as she faces Elder Davis.

"Excuse me, who are you?" Elder Davis, confused, cocks an eyebrow at the unknown lady, looking up at her from the ground.

"I am Sadaka, daughter of Gotswana? Best friend of Nabulungi? Does that ring a bell?" Sadaka asks, but Davis shakes his head, earning a grunt of irritation from Sadaka. "These are my lions." She gestures to the lions surrounding them, still combing some of the lions' fur, "What are you doing here, white man?" Asks Sadaka, her eyebrows knit together, her protectiveness showing.

"These lions are yours?" Elder Davis asks, a cub sitting on his lap, "I've met these lions before too." Davis offers a small smile, and Sadaka was shocked for a moment. These lions have met Elder Davis before? How did she not notice? At the moment, she felt a bit not special, but that didn't waver her angry-looking expression.

She breathed in deeply, Davis' smile wavering, "I am—"

She gets cut abruptly by a lion, nudging her side softly. Sadaka looks at the lion, the king of the pack, Jabali. Jabali gestures to Elder Davis, somewhat telling Sadaka to sit down beside him. Sadaka recoils a bit, looking a tad bit disgusted. She then turns to Elder Davis, and he shrugs, but he smiles. Sadaka took a while before she sighed deeply, giving in, and sat beside Elder Davis on front of the big tree.

A lion jumped on her lap too. "So." She turned to Davis, petting a cub.

"How long have you known about these lions?" Asks Sadaka, and Davis smiles, recalling a fond memory.

"Probably a week after I was sent here." Davis replies, rubbing the ears of the lion cub, "Not much people had faith in conversion, so we parted ways at times. I ended up meeting some lions, weirdly. I met up with Zabu first."

"Zabu?" She quirks an eyebrow.

"The main king of the pack. I named him Zabu." 

"No, no, no." Sadaka waves her hands, "I named him Jabali. His name is Jabali." She growled.

"Zabu."

"Jabali."

"Zabu."

"It's Jabali."

"Zabu!"

"White man I can punch your face right now." She smirked, cracking her knuckles. Davis sweats, raising both hands in defeat. 

"Alright, it's Jabali." He groaned, but laughed quite afterwards.

And then it was quiet, only lions surrounding them in the wild as the hot sun is above them. They pet the cubs quietly in slight comfort, watching the time pass around them. Weirdly, Sadaka liked this. He wasn't used to talking with the elders sent here, but meeting Elder Davis right now was a small step to something. It was nice to know people admire animals as much as she does.

This little scene made Sadaka's little heart smile. And she smiles too. She doesn't know why she feels this giddy—but she does. 

"White boy, d'ya love animals a lot?" She asks curiously, looking at Davis again. 

"Definitely. I got a poor childhood, so I loved to play outside." He responds, smiling again at another fond memory, "And now, there's more animals here, and I actually like it. Even if they're wild and I can potentially get hurt." He chuckles, then silence ensues between them again.

Sadaka thinks, maybe it's time for her to leave? But honestly, this is such an awkward situation, and she doesn't want to leave at the same time. She looks at the baby cub, petting its cheeks and ears as it purrs to the touch. Maybe a lullaby would help.

And so, without warning, Sadaka sings her lullaby.

"Lala kitoto lala," she sings in a beautiful voice. Davis' mouth gapes for a moment as she continued singing. It was soothing to everyone present there to listen to a soft song from Sadaka. And honestly, Sadaka loves singing it to them, regaining fond memories of her mother and Gotswana. The lions lay down slowly as they relax with the song, some even yawning.

It was such a peaceful moment to relive. The cub on Sadaka's lap snuggling against her stomach, looking very content. And Davis, Davis just watches, amazed by her. His mouth was still open slightly, he might catch a bug in his mouth. 

And then, she finished, and five seconds of silence starts before Davis claps softly, his smile beaming. "That was beautiful, sister!" He exclaims, making sure not to wake up the lions. "Such a sweet lullaby, and your voice is really calming." His eyes gesture to the sleeping lions. 

"Thank you. My dad taught it to me. And I sing it to the lions to de-stress-ify them."

And something about this moment felt very memorable, something she should cherish. And she does cherish this small but sweet moment.

"White boy." She calls.

"Yea?"

"I like you." She grins, "Let's do this again sometime."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Suggestions are open in the comments. This might have a part two or whatever, but for now, I'll stick with what I want to do.


	3. Mother To Son

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Headcanon that Church and Kimbay have a great mother-son relationship. Kimbay probably lost both her son and husband at some point and Church lost his mother so they're sources of comfort to each other.

Kimbay couldn't believe it, the elders have challenged the villagers to a wrestling match. Right now. It was ridiculous to Kimbay because she 100% knows that the elders were much weaker than the villagers. One time, Elder Price and Darlesia fought over some food for a certain festival, and Price broke an arm severely. And now, they wanted to beat the villagers in their main hobby—wrestling.

And honestly, it's been horrible so far.

Kalimba and the Prophet had a great start, but it ended up with Arnold crying while Nabulungi had to give up her role as the referee to try and comfort her poor sweetheart. Then, Elder Thomas and Sadaka almost had a close call too, but Elder Poptarts got knocked out. Davis was cheering for Sadaka too. Then, Elder Price with Mafala was plain the worst because Price was really weak—he probably gets bruises by getting touched. The only time the villagers were beat is when Elder McKinley was able to knock the General out.

Now, it was Kimbay's turn against apparently their most powerful wrestler: Elder Church. But at the moment, the elders were completely doubtful, some have stopped cheering for their representatives already. The villagers in the other hand were full of pride, all of them cheering for each of their representative who would fight against the elders (with the exception of the general, they were silent and bored, fake cheering, I guess?).

The elders, to Elder Church, had faith, finally. They were actually chanting for him, and those cheers against the villagers', the noise filled the cave quickly. Kimbay didn't feel threatened at all, though. It was an elder. And sure, Kimbay's a mother, but she has power. She's a strong person, she had pride in herself. She's beat Mafala and Kalimba once before, so she can do this.

Mafala, the replacement referee (since Nabulungi is still comforting a crying Cunningham), had whistled, signaling the start of the match. Both charged immediately, both forces themselves unto each other. The cheers were getting louder as Kimbay was able to move a bit it to lift Elder Church and slam him unto the floor. The elders gasped, Kimbay sees Elder McKinley's excitement crumble immediately.

Elder Church hissed at Kimbay, slowly getting up as his back was in a lot of pain. Kimbay placed her hands on her waist, clicking her tongue, "What a shame," she said, saying it directly at Church. The elders were holding each other, terrified while looking at Church. The villagers were pouring their heart out with the cheering, though.

Church growled for a moment before attacking again, this time pinning Kimbay unto the ground. The villagers booed at Church, making him a little distracted from the fight itself. Church tried punching Kimbay in any way possible, but Kimbay avoided that easily, putting on a small smirk at Church as she flipped, grabbed his neck, and threw him back on the ground.

Church landed with a loud thud as a hand flew to his head, hissing a little at the pain. His face was definitely screwed up uncomfortably. But he decided to kneel immediately, a little wobbly at first, but right after was able to glare at Kimbay eye to eye.

Church pushed Kimbay inevitably, and she landed right next to the ropes, saying a small "Oof." at the blow. Church then ran a little backwards, and started charging at the woman, elbow first. Kimbay's eyes widened but she reacted quickly, immediately moving to her left to avoid the blow. Church's reaction time was slow, though, as he was somehow able to flip himself off the ring, landing on his back. That must've hurt.

Then, she climbed the ropes carefully as she eyed the Church who is lying on his back, breathing heavily. He looked way too tired to actually stand up. Kimbay pitied the man. Then, when she reaches the top, the villagers cheer for her even noisier when she didn't expect them to be noisier than a while ago.

Then, she does it. She jumps, flipping to her side as she landed on Church with her elbow directly hitting his chest. He's done. Mafala went up to the two and raised Kimbay's arm proudly as the villagers cheered vigorously, some even jumping in cheer. The elders in the other hand were crushed, disappointment clear on their faces.

Then, a loud cough could be heard from right beside Kimbay. It was Church, sitting up and was coughing. He was coughing pretty harshly, the coughs getting louder by the second. Then, suddenly, something else other than saliva exited his mouth.

Blood came out.

Kimay, alarmed, shrieked a little and got through the crowd of villagers as she approached her former opponent. The elders were also intrigued by the loud coughing, so they approached the man as well, only to find out that the blood was pouring out his mouth quickly. Elder Thomas shrieked as he immediately sat beside Church, rubbing his back soothingly.

"Gotswana, we need Gotswana," he called out, and Gotswana immediately hears the alarms and approaches the situation quickly. He leans down and rubs with Elder Thomas as the blood still keeps coming out. Kimbay guiltily kneels down as well, her aggressive face softening—her mother instincts were kicking.

"Sweetheart, I'm sorry," she says helplessly, and Church is weak but he nods. After all the blood that needed to come out came out, Gotswana brings him up, but discovers Church's left leg seemed to be sensitive of touching the ground. It might be a broken leg? Poor Kimbay felt frustrated at herself for hurting an innocent boy, even if it was for a game. She went a little to overboard.

"We'll get you to the clinic. We'll do a quick examine and you'll rest there," Gotswana spoke, and Church, still screwed up in pain, nodded in agreement as Elder Thomas and Gotswana helped him go the village clinic as the wrestling game abruptly gets cut off. It was silent for a while before Elder McKinley decided to take actions and clapped twice, grabbing everyone's attention.

"Okay, everyone, this game will be cut off until Elder Church will be okay. No wrestling. As in, no wrestling. It's late night so I expect all of you to go home and get some well rest and sleep." He claps twice again, "Good night to y'all, have a great sleep!" He says as the villagers and elders follow, all pouring out of the cave at once. Though everyone acted pretty calmly about the situation, Kimbay felt uneasy, very guilty for certain. She's gone past her limits. She has to apologize to him tomorrow.

-; -

It was the next day, always as hot as ever in Uganda. Everyone gone straight to work either plowing fields, or selling items, or helping others, etc. Kimbay, though, promised to visit Elder Church today. So, she prepared some flowers she bought from Nabulungi's flower store and some food Nabulungi helped her cook—nsenene. It was cooked grasshoper, she wanted to surprise and entertain Church a bit.

She arrived to the clinic, which wasn't really busy. She immediately ran into Gotswana, dressed properly in his doctor uniform. "Oh hi," he says, holding some papers in hand, "You looking for that white boy?" He asks, and Kimbay nodded immediately. "Sure, right this way," he put down the papers as he gladly guides Kimbay to the room Church stayed in, which was not quite far from the lobby.

It was a shared room with others, only separated by a curtain. Church was near the window, though, looking half-asleep and very frustratedly tired. She approached the man as Gotswana leaves, leaving the two together. Kimbay sat on a stool, and Church looked at her droopily.

"I was going to sleep, ya know." Church slurred, sounding like he was drunk. But really, he probably didn't get sleep, "Fight me, Kimbay." He raises his closed fist in the air, but Kimbay laughs and pulls it back down.

"I said fight me!" He demanded a bit louder this time. He really sounded drunk or high. Kimbay shushed him, not wanting to disturb other patients.

"Okay, fine." She says as she pats Church's brown hair, and Church crunches up in pain for a moment, "There. I won."

"No fair, I didn't get to punch you." He retorts, but she sticks her tongue out at Church.

Kimbay doesn't know what Gotswana did that made Elder Church this woozy—it was like he was drunk in some sorts. And he wasn't mad at her at all, he was playful, half-smiling at Kimbay despite knowing her well. Such a sweet elder.

"Erm," Kimbay spoke as she placed the flowers on the bedside table, "I'm sorry about yesterday. I think I went too... overboard." She rubbed the back of her head in a little shame, but Church dismissed it right away.

"It's fine. It was a good challenge anyway. The first time I got beat." He states, smiling politely at her, "It was a different experience.. and the damage isn't so bad... well, some part of my leg is broken or something, which isn't that bad. I'm..." he breathed in deeply before continuing, "used to it. I've experienced much worse.. and the blood from my mouth isn't bad as well. For my leg, we're going to apply the cast tomorrow. With the state of this clinic, I don't think they're prepared with all the materials right away.." he states.

"Yea, this clinic is really... poor." She looks around, looking at makeshift items used for medication and materials coming in a day to even a month late. It's difficult to live in poor places like this, especially when majority of its villagers are sick with some type of deadly, viral disease. Kimbay doesn't know where they get the supplies... but she'll just be thankful they do have supplies in the first place.

"Isn't that going to swell, though?" Asks Kimbay, but Church shrugs.

"Like I said, I'm used to all those things. My past sucked." He laughs nervously, but Kimbay just pouts at him, then, she remembers about the packed snack she made for Church. She lightens up for a moment and grabs the packed snack, presenting it on front of the man.

"Nsenene. Nabulungi and I packed it. Maybe it's not your type of food but it's fun to watch you try and eat it." She opened the container and there it was, nsenene—grasshopers. Elder Church gagged immediately.

"Ew." He looked disgusted.

"Ew indeed." She replied as she grabbed one piece and tried feeding it to Church airplane style.

"You can't trick me with the airplane if the food we're eating is cooked grasshopper."

"Yes I can."

"No you—"

Kimbay plopped the grasshopper in his mouth, and Church widened his eyes. Instead of spitting it out, though, he crunched it. Then he crunched it again. And again. Until he started chewing the thing, amazed by its taste. Kimbay beamed as Church enjoyed the weird meal.

"That.. give me a handful." Church requests, and Kimbay follows, giving him a handful of cooked grasshoppers. And Church ate them gullibly, enjoying the taste of the unusual traditional food. "These are.. delicious." He smiles and beams in between chewing, and Kimbay giggles at him, eating a handful herself.

"Yes, yes they are."

-; -

Yesterday was a successful visit to Elder Church, and Kimbay decided that she'd visit today as well. She really had nothing good to do after she teaches the children, so she decides to actually do something. She decided to bring another pack of nsenene, but also had stories up her sleeve to tell.

She remembered the room Church was in, and didn't bother to ask Gotswana for anything. So, she stepped in immediately, passing by some beds and finally reaching Church's.

He was not alone.

Beside him was another elder, a blond, actually. Of course it was Elder Thomas, the smallest elder in District 9, who was sitting on a stool talking enthusiastically to Church.

"Good afternoon," she chimes in, "I hope I'm not disturbing," she adds, but Thomas smiles brightly, shaking his head.

"Nah, I like it when there's more company—it's fun." Kimbay hat to admit, Elder Thomas was very optimistic and bubbly unlike the other elders. He was always smiling and cheery, always speaking with everyone around him, bringing a warm aura. "Now, what've you brough—"

"Give it to me!" Church abruptly cut the blond as he reaches for the container of his new favorite food, Thomas biting his lip in confusion. "I want those grasshoppers." He begged, and Kimbay gave him the container, opening it for him. Church then grabbed them immediately and shoved it in his mouth, making Thomas look very uncomfortable, looking like he wants to puke.

"It's tasty, trust me on this, Chris,"

"No. This is the first time I'm saying no to food."

"Please?"

"Egh."

Eventually, Thomas tries it, and he spits it out immediately, disgusted by its taste. "Ew, how can you like this?" So much for being positive, "it tastes like.. weird gak."

"What's a gak?"

"Pretend it's something disgusting."

"Nsenene is not disgusting."

"It tastes like cooked shoes."

  
"You two are cute." Kimbay states, breaking of their small, little argument. The two flush but immediately shook it off, and Thomas just nods slowly. He stuttered for a moment.

"Well, yes, we're.. uh, together." Thomas smiles, waiting nervously for a response.

Kimbay beams, she felt like a proud mother, "Ooh, that's wonderful!" She clasped her hands, "And I'm not against this—Darlesia and Kalimba are together, and I know some villagers who are not straight.. don't be too scared." She reassures them, and they both exhale in relief, "When did ya start dating?" She asks.

They were both silent for a while until Church replied, "this is weird but.. a while after my mother died." He nervously spoke, "it was a nice.. source of comfort, I guess."

"Oh." She replied, feeling a hint of pity for the brunet. That small story kind of triggered something in her as well, "Well, I'm the last of my family who lives, if that makes you feel better." The two widen their eyes, sweating, looking like they've murdered something, "no, it's not your fault, it just happened. The general killed my husband—it didn't hurt me too much because we kinda had a bad relationship. The one that alarmed me the most was when my son died, less than a year old. Some sickness got to him." She took a deep breath before continuing, "The rest of my family died because of AIDs, got over that, though."

"Oh." Thomas was first to react with a guilty face, "my sister died of cancer.." he said, but didn't really go in detail.

It was silent for a moment until they changed the topic and started talking about nsenene again. Thomas kept a very uncomfortable face until Church tried making him eat the bug again. Thomas gagged, and rushed for the bathroom.

Church laughed, "Weird, I kinda thought he had no gag reflex."

"What."

"Nothing." He dismissed that statement immediately, and diverted his attention to the casted leg. "Surprised on how big this cast it for a small broken bone."

"Gotswana said it wasn't small like you said."

"Like I said, I've experienced worse." He replies. He stops for a moment before changing the subject again, "Thanks."

"Why? I'm the reason for you being here." Kimbay pouts.

"Just thanks for being here and such. It's like your my new mother—I.. I mean your motherly. Like that, a temporary mother." He splutters, but just smiles nervously. The smile seemed contagious because Kimbay had smiled as well, honoring the compliment-ish sentence.

"And for the nsenene. I love them."

-; -

Elder Church is finally released from the clinic with a broken leg (of course with a cast) and some makeshift crutches. Elder Thomas was present with Kimbay in helping the brunet get out of the clinic. Kimbay has to admit, she'd grown pretty fond of Church, like he was a family member of some sorts—probably why she kept visiting.

"I'm free!" James speaks, taking a deep breath of the outdoor Ugandan air, almost letting go of his crutches from his ecstasy. Kimbay and Thomas caught him though, almost sweating worriedly for him.

"White boy you better not do anything stupid." Kimbay warned him, his motherly instincts kicking in.

"Yes, mom."

Silence for a while. They stared at each other in disbelief—even Poptarts was in a small shock. Church blurted out stuttering for a moment, flushed in embarrassment. "I—well, I mean—You—" he was abruptly cut off by Kimbay.

"It's okay.." she pauses for a moment to take a deep breath. "Son." That felt great to say, it really nice to call Church that. It was like she finally gained another family member after the deaths of her relatives and loved ones. Church smiled and Thomas watched in awe.

"Thanks, mom." He replies with a soft but pure smile.

"Let's get you back to the mission hut."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY THIS IS LATE. This will take another ten thousand years to update probably.


End file.
